Yusuke, The Girl, The Sequel
by Saria19
Summary: Beginning where the original left off, Yusuke has been kidnapped, AGAIN!
1. Chapter 1

Saria: Happy happy joy joy!

Tori: Happy happy joy joy!

Zas: Happy happy joy joy!

All three: Happy happy joy joy! Happy happy joy joy! Happy happy joy joy! HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY JOY!! (BAM!!)

SA: (hefting a mallet) Idiots. This isn't Rin and Stimpy. Besides, wasn't that show taken off the air YEARS ago?

People to thank for finally getting this written: Roy for one was a definite help, he helped me kick around ideas and form them into complete thoughts!

My reviewers definitely helped: thanks to Little Karma, Demonically Angelic Neko88, SailorSaturntheSilencer, and kallipso!

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It was a bright, beautiful morning. Outside the birds were chirping as a strange looking blue one flapped around frantically. Many of those that were staying in the hotel were preparing for the walk to the second stadium for the finals that would be held that day for the dark tournament. Everything seemed at peace.

"BAM!"

"Yusuke, where are you?!?" Bui shouted as he ripped the suite that he and Karasu shared with the girl.

"Not so loud!" Karasu hissed, his head hanging out of the closet. "Toguro hears you, and we'll be dead."

"We'll be dead anyway if we don't find her," Bui answered as he rushed to the door of the room, but saw that the thin strings that he had attached the night before were neither broken nor disturbed. "When she left, she didn't use the door."

"I'm certain she didn't use the window," Karasu glanced outside and spotted the blue bird thing again. "Wait, what if she turned herself into the bird?!"

Bui stared at Karasu for a moment before knocking him over the head, hard.

"If she had shape shifting abilities, she would have used them long ago!" he roared, before moving to the balcony to observe the ground below. "Besides, didn't she suggest that we work together to get rid of Toguro?"

"So, do you think whoever gave her the Lordinir took her?"

"I don't know, but how are we going to get away before Toguro comes?" Bui whispered.

Before either of them could even begin to brainstorm, the door swung open and Toguro stepped in. He glanced around at the trashed room, but wrote it off, turning his gaze on the closed bedroom door.

"There was some strange energy last night, many of the spiritually aware are nervous," he said as he walked toward the door to the bedroom. "Is she responding to anyone?"

"Who?" Karasu asked before Bui elbowed him, hard, and nudged him toward the balcony.

"No," Bui answered, and Toguro turned toward the door and opened it.

Karasu and Bui both edged toward the window, but neither got close before Toguro realized Yusuke wasn't in the room.

"Well," he growled dangerously. "Where is she?"

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The first thing to come into focus was the ceiling, one which looked like it was an odd shade of off-pink and shifted in patches.

Walls came into focus next, painted a peppermint pink that would cause headaches to anyone, even the most pink obsessed people.

Finally, Yusuke felt the aches that crept into her body, mostly in the form of a headache that made her feel as though her head were about to split open. Her limbs for the most part throbbed slightly, almost as though she had growing pains.

'Great, I'm going to grow taller,' she thought before turning onto her side and pulling the blanket that covered her up to cover her more as she closed her eyes again.

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Toguro paced angrily as he tried to figure out what the video feed from the cameras were showing him. They were set up outside the windows of the rooms that Yusuke, Karasu, and Bui had shared. Although they showed that the now missing girl had been near the windows, even opening one for a short time, she had not left through one.

The cameras in the hall showed the same thing.

This left only one possibility, especially if neither Karasu or Bui knew what happened, that Yusuke had been removed using energy.

And since he knew very well that she didn't have that ability, the only possibility seemed to be the weird energy that had been sensed the night before. Could someone have been using that energy to remove Yusuke?

It didn't matter at the moment. What he needed right now was to finish the tournament and for that he would need a fifth member of the team. He should have appointed one instead of being so confident that nothing would happen.

"Any ideas brother?" he heard a voice ask from behind him. Turning, Toguro found that it was indeed his older brother. "I have already checked around, even going so far as to check around the team that Genkai was leading. It is almost as though she simply dropped off the earth."

'Or at least out of Ningenkai,' Toguro thought as he remembered several stories he had heard about demons that ate human flesh. No doubt they would probably view someone like Yusuke as very good eating…

"You have a theory?"

"Yeah, and I don't think we may be seeing Yusuke alive ever again. We'll look for her remains after the Tournament. Koenma might even be willing to locate her soul for us." He didn't notice the pained look that crossed his brother's face, or the winces that Karasu and Bui shared from the door way.

They all knew that there were some demons that didn't like humans having powers, and this one would have to be very strong to be able to slip past both of the roommates, grab the girl, and slip out again.

"Enough of this though," Toguro continued as he pushed away from the video displays. "There is still a tournament that we need to participate in and we need a fifth person." None of the team, not even his brother noticed the slight tightening in Toguro's throat as he moved down the hall to talk to their manager, and he was glad of it.

Yusuke had proven she was a child that it was easy to become attached to, and he had become attached despite how much trouble she was. To accept that he may have just brought her to a place where he was certain she would be able to defend herself against all possible attackers and to be proven so wrong…

For a moment he found himself feeling very similar to that day when he had returned to his dojo and found his students slaughtered…

"Sakyou, I need a favor from you."

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Yusuke wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it couldn't have been more than a few hours since she had first woken up. Around her the room was warm, but not overly so, just comfortable.

Most of the aches were gone from her body though, and she felt up for moving a bit more.

Finally she opened her eyes again, then shut them quickly, fighting off a huge wave of nausea that passed over her. The room around her made her feel as though she were swimming in a pool of pepto bismol.

When she had opened her eyes before, she had only taken in the color of the walls, but hadn't gotten the full scope of the pink that made up the room. True the walls were pink, but so were the curtains, the few pieces of furniture, the bed, everything, except the floor.

Sitting up, but keeping her eyes closed for a second longer, Yusuke pulled the blankets tight around her again. Leaning back, she found that her bed was pressed up against the wall on one side, allowing her a full view of the room in all of its pinkish glory…

'Gag me…' Yusuke thought as she shivered slightly in disgust. Her hair may be pink, but that doesn't mean she likes the color, not by a long shot. 'Well, at least whoever took my clothes redressed me in white instead of pink… Wait a minute… REDRESSED ME?!?'

The sound of footsteps caught her attention, about half a minute before the door to the room was thrown open by an odd, doughy looking woman who had orange skin.

"Look what I made!" she exclaimed as she held up a pink tutu-like dress, and Yusuke found herself having flashbacks of the maid from the movie "Cats and Dogs".

'Oh hell no!' "Get the hell away from me you old hag!" Yusuke yelled as she dodged to the right as the maid dove at her.

"Such naughty language!" the maid exclaimed as she reached out to catch Yusuke again.

Ducking under the chubby arm, Yusuke ran out the door that had been left open and found she was in yet another room painted pink, except it seemed more like a playroom.

"What is it with you people and pink!?" she yelled as she scooted through the room, grabbing at the door that she hadn't been through and jerking it open, before noticing something disturbing. Her head was lower than the door handle.

Shaking off the creepy feeling that she felt at this discovery, Yusuke quickly dashed into the hall, evading the maid person once again who shrilled something that sounded like, "But little girls love pink!"

Running as fast as she could down the hall, Yusuke knew immediately that she wasn't in the hotel anymore. She actually had no idea where she was and she couldn't sense anyone who was familiar.

'Is this some sort of hoax planned by Toguro to punish me for causing so much trouble?' she wandered as she turned and sped down another hallway, almost running into a group of what looked like monks. 'Nope, there is no way he could have humor enough to create this sort of set up.'

Yusuke almost lost her footing when the maid who was chasing her turned the corner and actually did run into the monks. The effect and noise reminded her of a bowling alley and she probably would have started laughing if she hadn't run into someone else at that moment also.

She fell onto her butt rather firmly at that moment, but quickly faced forward to see who she ran into.

What she first saw was a pair of blue pants, then looking up, and up, and up, Yusuke finally saw the person was a very well built man with wild white hair and a tattoo on the left side of his face. There was something oddly familiar about him…

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The finals were about to start for the Dark Tournament and everything seemed to be set up. The team members were all at the door and ready to enter the arena, but Toguro still felt odd about not having a pink haired squirming brat with the group. Instead, Sakyou stood silently with the group, his formal suit standing out from the fighting armor or clothes that the true members of team Toguro.

His older brother seemed to be sulking and glaring at the same time, obviously not liking that Sakyou was there, but that couldn't be helped.

He couldn't tell with Karasu and Bui, both wearing their masks or helmets, but they seemed more detached than ever.

It was hard to believe that one human kid had so much effect on all of them. They didn't even know if she was really dead!

Sakyou had already deployed a number of "loyal" demons to look for the girl; all of them had reported negatives about finding any trace of her.

All of the team members had agreed though that as soon as the tournament was over, they would begin looking for the girl once again.

A slight energy flux down the hall caught the attention of all the team members though as a person approached. Looking up, Toguro was slightly surprised to see Genkai, already alive again, heading towards them, a look of deadly seriousness on her once again young face.

"I want to talk to you, alone!" she hissed at Toguro before turning and walking toward a more private area.

Nodding to his brother, Toguro followed the young version of his former lover down the hall to an empty area where she stopped and set up a sound proof shield.

"What do you want, Genkai?" he asked with a detached interest.

"Where is Yusuke?" she demanded venomously, her eyes gleaming with a deadly light.

"Why not ask Koenma, he seems more like he should know her whereabouts, because if I knew, she would have certainly have been retrieved by now."

The pink haired woman glared at him once again before sighing and sitting down on a bench. "Koenma doesn't know; he doesn't even have a tracer on her. Besides, her disappearance should be more of a concern to us since her mother doesn't give a damn. If she did, she would have allowed me to take custody of Yusuke years ago."

Toguro felt a nagging feeling rise up in the back of his mind before he fully caught what Genkai had said.

"How could you have known Yusuke for years if you only met her during your tournament to decide your pupil?"

"Did you ever wonder why I refused to go with you all those years ago?" Genkai asked. "Did you ever send someone to check on me or just follow the rumors? Didn't you find it odd that I built a temple and stayed there for fifty years?"

Realization crept up Toguro's brain, and the world seemed to slow down.

"I was pregnant Toguro. Fifty years ago I gave birth to a child, a girl. She grew up, married a nice boy and had a daughter of her own when she was twenty-two that she named Atsuko. That child in turn had a daughter of her own, when she was fourteen, right after her parents died in a horrible accident."

Toguro's head was reeling, he felt nauseous, and he knew the worst part had yet to come.

"That child was named Yusuke. She is our great-granddaughter."

Toguro felt his heart gain yet another scar as he realized the full implications of this situation. He could only turn and stumble back towards his team, slow steps as he reviewed all he had done.

He had kidnapped and beaten his own grandchild. Locked her in closets, dislocated limbs, allowed for her to go for days without food…

His brother took only one look at him before demanding an explanation, to which he could only murmur one thing.

"My grandchild…"


	2. Chapter 2

Saria: (blink blink blink) Damn, only six reviews… Serves me right I guess, waiting so long to post the sequel to my original fic…

Zas: Hey, it's not the end of the world!

Tori: Yeah, remember that one chapter you once wrote and thought everyone would love but you only got 1 review?

Saria: … SA, you may go ahead.

Tori: Go ahead with what? (spots SA pulling out a mallet with an evil smirk on her face) Oh…

SA: Bwa ha ha ha ha!!!

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There were many guesses about how the Dark Tournament that year was going to end. Many believed that Team Toguro would pull another victory. A few believed that Team Wave might be able to win, especially since they had Genkai as their team leader. No one expected for Toguro to decide, moments after entering the ring area, to forfeit.

Sakyou, the manager of their team, refused to accept the outcome of this, and tried to destroy the stadium after he realized that his dream of opening a huge and permanent portal to the demon had been stopped.

The stadium could not be saved, but everyone was able to evacuate, with the exception of Sakyou who simply refused to leave.

Either way though, Team Wave had won, even without fighting in the final round.

And despite many misgivings, the Tournament Committee had to grant the members of Team Wave their wishes.

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"Kisama! Put me down!" Yusuke howled as she was hauled up and into the air by the guy she had run into, twisting and squirming all the while.

"Stop squirming so much, you'll hurt yourself," the man said quietly as he carried her under one arm. Yusuke briefly thanked god that Toguro had never tried to carry her around in such a manner.

"You're treating me like a little kid…" she muttered and scowled up at the man/demon, she couldn't decide what he was really. She was pretty certain that he was a demon, yet something about him seemed almost human too.

Her captor didn't reply as he pushed open a door, and Yusuke's eyes widened as she recognized the room. That horrible pink room.

"NOT IN THERE! NOT… IN… THERE!!" Yusuke's struggles escalated, before she noticed that the guy holding her was narrowing his eyes. And his annoyance didn't seem to be aimed at her.

"What happened to this place?" he demanded, turning to the maid person who had just appeared around the corner.

"Lovely, isn't it?" asked the orange skinned maid as she waddled over to the two, receiving an outright look of horror from Yusuke. "Little girls always look good in pink!"

Yusuke almost retched at that moment, but the man's voice interrupted her.

"Repaint it to what it was before," he ordered sternly as he gave the room one more glance before turning to head down the hall, Yusuke still tucked under his arm.

"I can see why you didn't want to go back into that room," he said as they turned a corner, and he shifted Yusuke so she was situated more like she was sitting in the curve of his arm, her head against his shoulder. "I was getting a headache just looking at it."

"Tell me about it," Yusuke ventured as she shifted slightly, not really liking the position he was holding her in. "I was nauseated by it. I honestly felt as though I would sooner swim through Pepto Bismol."

"Pepto Bismol?" asked the being as he turned down yet another hall.

"It's a thick pink medicine used to treat upset stomachs," Yusuke grumbled as she watched the halls, doing her best to memorize them as they went. "Where are you taking me?"

"It's almost meal time, and I have no doubts that you're hungry." Yusuke's stomach rumbling was confirmation enough for both of them.

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"Well, any sign of her at all?" Toguro demanded as he stared Koenma down, the young Prince of Spirit World trembling before him.

"Nooo," Koenma groaned miserably, wondering just how Yusuke was able to put up with this for months and not disappear before it came to this.

"When we find her, I expect to be given full custody," Toguro began. Behind him, Toguro's brother looked up in shock. "Her mother is not a suitable guardian, and it would be better for her to grow up the rest of the way in Genkai's shrine with the two of us."

"The two of us? At Genkai's shrine?" the elder Toguro stared pointedly at the younger. "Why not simply bring her back to the base with us? We can have her turned into a demon also and raise her as your heir."

Koenma mentally groaned; things were not looking up.

"No brother, things end here. All these years I've lived in a disgraceful fashion and abandoned what meant most to me. I failed my students once, and in their memory I did this to myself, never thinking how they would want me to live. I'm finally past that. I have already made arrangements, and tomorrow I will be turned back into a human. More over, I will pick up where I was foolish enough to leave off."

"WHAT?" Screamed the elder, his eyes widening, Koenma's face mirroring this reaction. "What do you mean by this?"

"Genkai and I discussed it, and we both agreed that even if Koenma doesn't find Yusuke, we'll look for her ourselves. Together. We plan to marry before setting out."

Koenma grinned as he continued to search for any trace of Yusuke's energy using some of her clothes from Toguro as a base. His grin soon faded though as he finally saw the end of the search; inconclusive. It was seriously doubtful that Yusuke was still in human world.

He knew that Toguro could read his expression though when the soon-to-be human turned and stormed out of the room. The elder one though just stayed where he was. He seemed to have a lost look in his eye.

"You know," the demon whispered, "ever since I was young, I always knew my brother and I were very different, and it went far beyond just our physical appearances. What we both felt for Genkai for instance was something I never expected to feel any reciprocation to. Then he brought little Yusuke along, and I could tell that he felt an attachment to her, and I felt it too. I thought for a while that he felt for her what he had for Genkai, and I wanted to intercede, to have her for myself. Then he started acting as though she were a child, his child…"

"You still have a human side you know," Koenma offered after listening to the little man. "Your soul never left you, nor did it leave your brother. It just needed something to latch onto in order to make itself known to you again."

"And it attached itself to my great niece after my brother captured her. I don't understand why though." 

"Maybe because she reminded you so much of you, your brother, and Genkai all wrapped in one package. It could also have been your instincts, the ones where you find yourself caring for and wishing to protect those close to you."

The elder Toguro nodded as he stood as though to leave the room. "Still," he remarked as he turned toward the door, "I feel like I'm losing my brother now that he plans to finally marry the girl of both our dreams, and to adopt his grandchild and raise her properly."

"Don't know why you think that," Koenma stated as he turned toward the door as well, George the ogre falling into step behind him. "Your family is growing because of this, you're gaining a sister now, and your niece will hopefully be found soon enough."

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Yusuke sat on the floor of a rather Spartan looking sitting room, playing with the food that was on her plate absently. Across the way, the hulking man who had caught her as she had run away from the "freaky orange nurse," as Yusuke had come to know her, lounged silently in his chair, no plate or anything present in his lap or any surface near him. She felt awkward about the idea of eating if he didn't, but she still managed to eat a decent bit before she had started picking.

Putting the plate down on the floor, Yusuke quietly stood and let her eyes roam over the expanse of the room, stopping on a window that she had missed some how.

Moving silently, she approached the window almost shyly then stood on her tiptoes to peak out. The view that greeted her was both awesome, yet at the same time depressing. It was obvious from her vantage point that the room she was currently in was in a tower of some sort. The city far below her was desert-like though, the buildings looking rounded and wind blown, though not decrepit. Everywhere she looked, everything seemed to be colored in shades of brown…

The near silent sound of cloth moving caught Yusuke's attention then though and she turned to see her host had moved to see what she was looking at.

"You know," he said, "I think the view on the other side of the room is a little better than this side, not that it make much of a difference though. Either way you just get a large eyeful of desert until the wet season comes, which should be in about two months."

Glancing back, he spotted her plate, only about half the food on it eaten.

"Not hungry?" he asked good-naturedly.

"No, but why didn't you eat?" asked Yusuke as she continued to stare out the window.

"I don't eat, not anymore at least…" was the man's almost hollow sounding response.


	3. Chapter 3

Tori: I believe everyone here needs to apologize for something or another to all our readers.

SA: (glares at Tori) Like hell we do! We posted a notice on Saria's profile, they should understand!

Saria: And it's not like I ever intended to not update, I just couldn't!

Zas: (bows to the audience) We are very sorry.

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It was very late, and Yusuke felt very tired, but she couldn't sleep. She didn't want to be snuck up on again, and considering what had happened the last time she slept, her unwillingness to sleep was no surprise.

Sure whoever it was that had captured her this time was nowhere near as bad as Toguro. These people seemed intent on insuring her health and welfare; Toguro had just been interested in her strength. These guys had fed her and talked to her; Toguro hadn't cared to see if she had enough food or what she thought. Heck, that white haired guy had even brought her back to this room, now repainted to an odd grey-blue color, and had tucked her into the bed.

She was pretty certain that she was being watched or monitored though, so she didn't dare to even sit up. Not until she had a plan at least. Unlike with the Toguro's on Hanging Neck Island, she had no clue where she was, no possible allies that she was aware of, and she was still tired. The view that she had gotten of the surrounding area from the window had not eased her nerves at all, and she knew she would have to be well rested, and have some supplies, if she intended to escape.

But there was something else that was bothering her: how freaking tall everyone here seemed to be! She barely came up to anyone's waist! She didn't quite understand it, and it made her feel as though it was her body that didn't feel right.

Actually, thinking back, her body didn't feel right. Her feet felt smaller and she seemed to have lost a lot of muscle mass. Reaching a hand up to touch her chest, Yusuke had to restrain a gasp. She knew she wasn't well endowed, but she hadn't been this flat since before puberty!

The door opening caused her to freeze and try to feign sleep, though she did peek from behind her eyelashes, and watched as a tall, bald monk stepped quietly into the room and moved over to the desk that was near the door.

Cracking her eye a bit more, she watched as he pulled an incense burner out from one of the drawers, stuck a single stick into the holder, and lit it. He turned to leave immediately after, but paused in the doorway and turned to stare directly at her. He knew she was awake.

Yusuke sighed and didn't bother feigning sleep any further. Opening both her eyes, she returned the man's stare with an incredulous look of her own.

An almost smile appeared on the monk's face after a few moments of staring, and he softly said before closing the door and actually leaving, "You'll do well here. But first you need to get some sleep."

Yusuke stared at the closed door for a few moments before turning over in her bed and drawing the blanket with her. Staring at the wall was no fun, but at least she wouldn't have to watch if that guy came back again. He was too calm, seemed too in control of himself, and he had seemed pleased by her almost glare.

Minutes passed, and a faint scent reached Yusuke's nose. It almost smelled like lavender with a faint undertone of orange. Not a strong or smothering smell like most incenses had when burned though.

Odd how much it reminded her of the stuff Genkai burned whenever she had difficulty sleeping…

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Raizen smiled when he was once again visited by his friends, Enki and Kokou. The married couple had agreed to help him with his kid after they had found out what happened to her. Yusuke was almost of the age when she would need to come to the Demon World to begin her training anyway.

"Raizen!" Enki declared as he pushed through the door. "No sooner do we leave and you send for us to come back again. Does this have something to do with your kid?"

Raizen almost grimaced; Enki always seemed to be the fast one on picking up these things.

"Well, serves you right!" Kokou declared, surprisingly sober. "You choose a human over me; of course the kid is going to be a shrimp!"

"She's not supposed to be this small," Raizen stated blandly. "We all saw her over the last couple of months, she shouldn't be pint sized."

Enki sighed as he nodded his head. He knew what Raizen was saying. Yusuke was allowed to remain in the human world for so long because they knew that she would grow faster there. She would come here incredibly young, but in a form that would be almost adult in size. Instead, she'd appeared looking as though she were still a child. A relatively young child.

"I might have a suggestion as to what may have happened," a voice called out.

All three of the powerful demons turned their heads to take in the form of Hokushin as he stepped into the room. Their silence was a good indicator to continue.

"When the three of you latched onto her spirit and drew her into this world, she was fighting you the whole way. Even though her inner demon helped to toss her into your grasp, she was still fighting. The stress of that may have destroyed her body, and when she was drawn here into a physical form, her spirit didn't have the energy left to be able to return her to the appropriate age. It needed a form that wouldn't consume so much energy, and thus formed her at a younger age, before she started using as much energy as she previously had."

Raizen groaned as he sank into a chair in the meeting room. This could be worse than he thought.

"I only have another year and a half, maybe two years to live. Will this be permanent, or will we be able to restore her?" Raizen asked. He pretended not to notice the pained expressions on his friends' faces as he mentioned his quickly approaching death.

"It seems like this will be a matter where only time can tell. Whether it will be time to for her energy to stabilize and correct her form, or time to grow up again, I'm not sure." Hokushin bowed to his king and turned to leave before pausing and turning around to address Raizen again.

"I visited her a few minutes ago, and lit some incense to help her sleep. I can tell by her eyes that she is very similar to you my king, and that her hair is starting to get some white streaks to it as your blood starts to come forward in her."

"That's a bad sign; she won't age as quickly if she has to grow up again."

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With the tournament completed, many of the competitors that had survived said their final goodbyes to friends, new and old, before they headed home.

Genkai, who had been fully restored to her twenty year old self, watched as demons departed on boats or indoors toward portals that would take them to the Demon World. Kuwabara, Shizuru, Kurama, Yukina, and Yusuke's oblivious mother Atsuko were all departing in a few minutes for the mainland.

For Genkai, this had been Atsuko's final chance to prove herself worth anything as a mother, but she hadn't recognized Yusuke the few times she caught a glimpse of her. Without a body or a reminder of some sort, Atsuko didn't seem capable of remembering that she was a mother.

Toguro gave up on her within a minute of being introduced, and already stated that Yusuke, when found, would not be returning to live with her.

Toguro, currently in surgery to have his humanity restored, was finally coming back to her. They were going to marry, and continue where everything had been abruptly cut off. Despite herself, Genkai couldn't help the sad smile that crossed her face.

She knew better than to think that happily ever after would come of this.

Beside her, Hiei, who had decided to join them in the search for Yusuke since he "didn't have anything better to do," as he put it, noticed the smile. He also noticed a distraught red head coming towards them.

"Have either of you seen Yusuke?" Jin asked as he stopped in front of them. "I asked her teammates, but they don't know where she is either."

"No, I'm afraid we don't know either," replied Genkai before Hiei could respond. "We intend to start searching ourselves now, see if we can find anything."

"That's too bad," Jin said, his ears had been drooping to start with, now they seemed to droop even more. "I was planning on visiting my old man; when I spoke to him last, he said that I have a younger sibling, and he wants me to meet her. He knows lots of people, so maybe he can get word out for you, help you a little in your search, at least where Demon World is concerned."

"Thank you," was all Genkai said, her eyes drawn towards the ship that the rest of the team was already boarding.

Hiei nodded to Jin, and then watched as the wind master took off to continue his search.

Down by the docks, the crew headed for the mainland was joined by one more being, the elder Toguro. He was going his own way for once, independent of his brother and Genkai.

Bui and Karasu both had decided to start searching for Yusuke themselves, and with the younger Toguro soon to rejoin the human race, the Apparition Gang and Team Toguro were unofficially disbanded. They had both decided to begin their own search in the Demon World after hearing from Koenma that it was unlikely she was in Human World. While there, both intended to also train and improve themselves so they could defeat Toguro at long last, before human old age set in.

"Wherever you are Yusuke, there are so many now that care for you. We'll come for you and bring you home. Just stay safe until then," Genkai murmured as she watched the ship finally weigh anchor and depart.

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Yusuke peered out and down the hall that was outside her room. Seeing no one about, she swiftly moved to the corner of the hall and peered around it, checking for anyone who might be up. Seeing and hearing no one once more, she clutched her small pack even more securely as she dashed down this hall and then eased her way down a flight of stairs, doing her best to not make noise. Her destination, the kitchen.

Four days had passed since she's been brought here, and with the exception of the orange nurse, Yusuke could almost call the place pleasant.

The white haired man that seemed to be in charge, which she had run into on her first pathetic escape attempt, was named Raizen. He made it a point to see her several times a day, and after two days, when she seemed to have settled some, had told her she would be allowed to train.

The tall, bald monk who had come into her room that first night was named Hokushin. He was the second in command it would seem, a general here, and also her tutor. For the last two days he had been almost a constant in her life.

Raizen also had two friends, not a part of his army, who Yusuke was introduced to. They were named Enki and Kokou. Kokou reminded Yusuke of her mother, drinking way too much and oblivious to the happenings around her quite often. Enki was like the big crazy uncle that picks you up and swings you around as a kid, which he did to Yusuke as soon as he was introduced.

What aggravated her was that she couldn't figure out what they wanted from her. Surely they didn't want her in their army, did they? If they did, wouldn't she be sleeping in some sort of barrack and having group lessons, like the ones she saw going on every so often? Wouldn't there be a uniform?

These questions and many more filled her head, and even as she crept down towards the kitchen, she couldn't help but review them, and try to think of an explanation.

Holding her breath as she pushed open the kitchen door, Yusuke quickly moved to the area where food for the non flesh-eaters, a fact she had been broad sided with, was kept. She quickly found a loaf of bread, some apples, and some dried strips of meat that she was certain wasn't human meat. Packing the items into her bag, she found a canteen, filled it with water, and added it to her bag as well.

A quick mental review told her she had her present clothing, a simple shirt and pant set that were faded blue in color, a cloak with a hood to hide her hair, the food and water she had just collected, and a map of the area that she had copied from Hokushin's office (she winced at the fact that she had drawn the map in crayon since that was what she had had immediately available). A knife was quickly added to the collection from one of the drawers.

Drawing up her hood, and affecting a slight hunch to try to better disguise herself, Yusuke took off into the night from the kitchen side door.

----------

Saria: Is it real?

SA: She finally was able to write?

Zas: I can't believe it…

Tori: PARTY TIME!!! I'm ordering pizza with pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms, sausage, no cheese, onions, and bell peppers!

Saria: Aren't you forgetting something?

Tori: Not that I can think of… What?

Saria, Zas, and SA: RED BEAN ICE CREAM!!!!

Doctor: You can't have any of that stuff yet!

All: DAMN YOU!


	4. Chapter 4

Saria: Chocolate… pizza… steam buns… smoothies…

Zas: Saria? Hey, Saria! (waves his hand in front of her face)

SA: Losses her hair with chemo, and the only thing she can think of now is food? What is wrong with her?

Tori: Brownies… cookies… muffins…

Zas: They've both lost it! Not that I can blame them though… (stares at the hospital dinner)

zzzzzzzzzz

Yusuke did learn several things from Genkai, and being forced to go through her competition for apprenticeship had taught her something very valuable: although a straight line is the shortest route, it is not always the best one. Thus, after sneaking out of the castle and making her way through the city and into a forest, Yusuke paid special attention to the map, looking over roads that would get her out of the territory while still helping her avoid most towns, yet also allow her to be on the lookout for a convoy to join, even if just temporarily.

'They know I'm not familiar with the area,' Yusuke thought as she tucked the map into her pocket. 'And I don't think Hokushin saw me copy this. For right now they will look for a little girl running around by herself, so my aim shouldn't be getting as far away as I can, but rather to join a group as quickly as I can, then stay with them for a few days until immediate area searches cool down, then depart.'

Finally, Yusuke reached a crossroads that had been marked as a major intersection for trade routes between two major cities.

Quickly climbing a tree, Yusuke settled in to wait for a group to pass, one where she could blend in to some extent.

zzzzzzzzzz

Genkai stared at the list that had just been handed to her by Koenma as Toguro peered over her shoulder, taking in the items listed as well. On the list were a series of relics, spells, plants, potions, and over such devices that could be used to erase the spiritual presence of a being. Genkai turned her eyes back on to Koenma, feeling one of them begin to twitch as she handed the list to Hiei.

"Where did you get this information?" Genkai asked the young prince.

"A demon named Suzuka, apparently friends with Jin, gave it to me. Some of these items leave traces, even if they do eliminate Yusuke's spiritual presence. He thought that whoever took her may have used one of these and that would explain-"

"The weird energy that was felt the morning she disappeared," Toguro finished as he connected the dots.

Genkai nodded as she accepted the list back from Hiei and scanned it once more before grabbing a pencil and marking the items that she believed should be investigated first, simply for the fact that they would be the most easy to eliminate. For instance: if she were to perform the Chant of Finshut with some of Yusuke's clothing on hand, she would know immediately if the Topuni Transportation spell had been used. She made it a point though to mark off certain plants and potions that were poisonous to humans.

"We need to thank Suzuka then," Genkai murmured as her thoughts turned back to the clown she had fought in the Semi-finals and silently offered her thanks to the eccentric demon.

"He departed for Demon World this morning. Jin intends to rejoin his friends after visiting his father and meeting his younger sibling," Koenma replied. "Said you taking Toguro out of the Tournament the way you did made it well worth it. After all, most demons view forfeit as more embarrassing than a defeat."

Beside her, Hiei couldn't help but start laughing as Toguro scrunched his nose in distaste.

"Well, good thing I'm not a demon," was his only reply.

zzzzzzzzzz

Morning came fast, and Yusuke dropped down from her tree and "joined" the second caravan she saw since the first had looked like a band of thieves. This caravan was more like a rodeo though, and the demon in charge was more than happy to get extra help (though small as that help may be) in driving his flock of animals towards the town.

The work wasn't hard, but it was very time consuming to drive the animals along. In the time it took to herd the animals into their stalls in the town, morning had long slipped away and the afternoon was well under way. Working alongside the other workers though had given her plenty of news, and the gossiping of the citizens of the township also reached her ears.

What Yusuke found out was that this was definitely the Demon World, and that the territory she was in was one of the three main territories run by the three kings, and Raizen was one of them. She was still near the center of the country, which was why the roads were so well maintained and the town didn't have many guards.

Another thing she found out was that several of Raizen's men had already come through looking for a young pink haired girl (Yusuke became very conscious of her hood on hearing that) who they expected was traveling alone. The forest was being searched for her and there was a reward out for her to be found. Yusuke decided to find either a wig or some way to color her hair after hearing that one.

What no one seemed to know was why this girl was so important though, and that was one thing that Yusuke really wanted to find out. There was plenty of speculation though: some thought she had stolen something, some thought she had killed someone, some thought she had shown potential as a fighter and impressed Raizen, some even thought she might be the daughter of one of Raizen's friends or of Raizen himself.

Still, some things were clear to Yusuke: she needed to leave the town soon, preferably with colored hair, and not as an individual traveling alone. Thus far, she had not found any solutions.

The few stores in town she visited didn't carry products like hair dye or even ink that she could use to color her hair. And there didn't appear to be any listing for caravans that would be moving out. It was like a hit-or-miss kind of chance deal. It seriously annoyed Yusuke.

'Come on Yusuke, think of something!' she thought as she dodged through the crowd of legs that were the town's people at the market. 'You won't have very long before this town will be thoroughly searched, as in the pull-down-everyone's-hood kind of search, and they will definitely have you when that occurs.'

Pushing her way through a doorway to escape the crowd, the girl found herself in what looked like a machine shop. Unlike anything she had seen in the Human World, this machine shop felt more like a Blacksmith's area. Metal devices were located everywhere: hinges, bolts, joints, odd pieces of metal fitted together in a jumble that didn't look like it could possibly serve any purpose but apparently it did. Oil and grease covered every surface, sharp edges were everywhere, but there was no sign of blood or rust. So although the shop had the feel of being well maintained, it still looked like an insurance company's worst nightmare made flesh; or steel if you really thought about it.

Two men seemed to be bartering over some pieces of metal, one (the obvious customer) complaining about how if he bought this piece then it would too thick to allow for another gear to be fitted in. The shop smith seemed to actually attempt to be accommodating to the customer, but he was quickly losing patience.

Feeling curious, Yusuke stepped closer to the table to take a glance at what was being argued over and saw a pile of what looked like scrap and gears. Neither of the two barterers paid her any mind.

An agreement seemed to be reached by the two a few moments later and the smith turned away from the counter. Yusuke also turned, intending to leave the store before the man could focus entirely on her presence, but her hood caught on something and was yanked off her head, right as the customer, a typical blonde she realized, accidentally knocked over a canister of oil, dumping the thick, black, slippery substance over her head, coating her hair and half of her cloak.

Yusuke yelped at first in shock over having the stuff splashed over her, but quickly calmed down. A quick look in one of the few shiny surfaces of the shop confirmed her thoughts that her hair would now be disguised, and she was mostly right. A few flicks with her hand smoothed and evened out the oil some, and now her hair looked straight and black as to wavy and pink.

Behind her, the blonde customer was actually apologizing for his clumsiness while the smith was laughing.

Yusuke left the store in a hurried fashion almost immediately, diving into the crowds outside even as she tugged off her cloak and tried to wring some of the oil out, or disguise the cloak as a black one.

'Solved my hair problem, but I might need a new cloak now,' she thought bitterly as she walked up the street, pulling the cloak back on and feeling grateful that the oil had stayed on the outside of the cloth.

The sound of a commotion up the street drew Yusuke's attention and to her horror she saw Hokushin and two of the other generals, Seitei and To'oo, enter the town, and they were being followed by a platoon of monks. They were pulling aside children left and right, pulling down hoods, asking questions, and headed in her general direction. More importantly there were several of the monks guarding the exit of the village, checking all people who were attempting to enter or leave.

For a moment Yusuke thought of using her powers to run, but quickly discarded the idea. Hokushin was faster and stronger than her, so any attempts to escape by those means could be easily stopped by him.

'Maybe I should head for the gates and pray that with my hair like this they don't recognize me,' she thought as she moved to join the line to leave, careful to distance herself from the searching monks. She almost made it when someone reached out and grabbed her.

Terrified that it was Hokushin or another of the monks, Yusuke turned and came face-to-face with the customer from the machinery store. She almost sighed in relief at the sight of the man.

"You ran out before I could offer to help clean off your cloak or fix your hair! It's not very beautiful to do things like that," the man declared as he stepped into the exit line with her.

"Was wondering how I would look with black hair earlier today anyway," Yusuke replied as the line slowly moved forward. Hokushin and the troop of monks were still moving up the street, getting farther and farther away.

"Appearance changes are nice, but you should try to use items that are actually meant for such uses. Your cloak is undoubtedly ruined by now because of that oil, and your hair will need to be cleaned with special products."

"I never intended to use oil, and what do you mean by special products?" Yusuke demanded as they got closer to the gate.

"Why, products meant to make and keep you beautiful!" the blonde declared as he threw out his arms comically. "You must always strive to appear beautiful and maintain you beauty! Much like I, the Beautiful Suzuka do every day!"

By this point in time, they were at the front of the gate, and upon Suzuka's declaration, the monks had frozen, looking shocked and embarrassed. Yusuke was flushing also.

One of the monks had chosen then, right as Suzuka had started a very long winded speech on how being beautiful led to one being worshipped, to whisper into Yusuke's ear that she needed to pay more attention to where she let her father wander.

And as the two left the town, headed to god only knew where with Suzuka still ranting on beauty this, that, and mostly himself, Yusuke wondered if Toguro had stolen the straight jacket that he used on her from whoever was supposed to be watching this guy.

zzzzzzzzzz

Touya sighed as he watched the fight that was occurring right in front of him. He had always thought fights shrouded in dust clouds were works of fiction. What was occurring in front of him was a good representation of one.

Chuu was holding Shishiwakamaru in a headlock, demanding an apology. Shishiwakamaru in turn was yelling that Chuu was drunk and refusing to do so as he said; he was in turn pushing at Rinku. The child's yo-yos and their strings were tangled around them all, though he had originally started at trying to get Chuu to let go off Shishi.

Sighing yet again, he couldn't help but wonder how much worse this would be if Jin were here. He would have definitely gotten involved if he were here. Then there actually would be a dust cloud.

The sound of crunching dead leaves caught his attention at that moment and he turned to see Suzuka approaching, and next to him was a small child with slick black hair.

"What is going on here Touya?" Suzuka demanded as he caught sight of the brawl.

"Chuu was drinking, Shishiwakamaru told him he smelled awful, they started fighting and Rinku got involved. Who is that child?"

"A kid I ran into in the parts shop that I accidentally dumped oil on, I brought her with me so that we could get her hair and cloak cleaned." Touya sniffed in distaste at Suzuka's response, but Yusuke could feel that it was Suzuka he was displeased with, not her.

"I don't think we'll be able to break them up for a while, so hand me the cloak and you get started on her hair. With any luck we'll have her cleaned up in time for dinner."

"I'll get out of your hair as soon as you're done with mine," Yusuke stated as she removed her cloak, handed it to Touya, then followed Suzuka to a basin where he had already poured some warm water and was in the midst of looking through a number of bottles, which she supposed were meant for cleaning her hair.

"Now now, none of that!" A new voice called out and Yusuke glanced over to see the blue haired man and the kid who had been brawling a few moments ago walk up. "It'd be irresponsible of us to let a little kid run off into the night, especially without dinner. You can stay with us for the night!" Next to him, the kid was nodding happily as he looked her up and down.

"Chuu, she looks like she's my age! Can we keep her, please Chuu?" The kid asked the blue haired man, who Yusuke now knew was named Chuu.

"Rinku, she might have somewhere she needs to go or a family waiting for her. If you want to stay though I'm pretty sure we can work something out!" Chuu had grinned at her when he had told her that she could stay and Yusuke could tell that this was a good, funny guy who she probably would eagerly have been friends with.

"We have one other in the group!" Rinku declared as he bounced around. "He's meeting with his father though, the Demon Lord of this territory, Raizen!"

Before Yusuke could even get a shocked expression on her face at the declaration, Suzuka suddenly yelled, "Found one!" and grabbed her. He quickly dunked her head into the water then started working a gel through her hair, pausing every few moments to rinse.

As her hair was cleaned, Yusuke was having a mild panic attack. This person that they spoke of would definitely come back with her description and worse yet, they could show up at any moment! She'd be caught instantly!

Her mental screams were cut short though when Suzuka suddenly asked, "So, you were wondering what you would look like with black hair today? How would you like to try one of my dyes?"

"I'd love it!" Yusuke practically yelled, elated at this development. "As for staying with you guys, I really have to get a move on. My family is bound to be looking for me if I don't show up!"

Suzuka hummed slightly and retrieved a bottle filled with a thick black fluid which he gently began to work into the girl's hair as the oil came out.

An hour later found Yusuke sitting at a campfire with the group, her hair being dried by Suzuka as Rinku asked her a series of questions such as if she could fight, if she had ever gone to the Dark Tournament, what her favorite color was, etc. She was surprised though that not one person had asked for her name yet.

When dinner was served, she felt that it was safe to eat, mainly since everyone ate from the same pot. Afterwards she gathered her dry cloak and left, thanking the group for their hospitality only to have a sleeping bag tossed to her.

"It's not safe for small ones to go running around at night," stated the man whom Yusuke had gathered to be Shishiwakamaru. "Stay close to the fire and set out in the morning."

At that moment, the long day that she had had finally caught up to her, and Yusuke barely managed to open the sleeping bag and settle in it before her eyes closed for the night.

zzzzzzzzzz

Jin stared at his father in horror. He couldn't help it. That he had a little sister was shocking enough by itself. That she was THE Yusuke that he had met at the Dark Tournament; he could live with that since he had felt a connection to her to begin with. His Lordinir vow of protection, as her big brother, would be a lot stronger.

But to hear that she was missing? Jin knew she was not familiar with the demon world. Wandering around, especially alone and unfamiliar with the workings of this world, was just asking for something nasty to try to make you a meal!

"I'll go rejoin my group and we'll start looking for her as well!" Jin shouted as he turned to race out of the hall.

"Not at the moment you won't!" Raizen had declared from his throne. "Traveling by yourself is dangerous, even at your level son. You'll wait until morning, and then you can head out. Doing so before then, you could fly right over her and not notice."

zzzzzzzzzz

Saria: (is sneaking back to her room with a package under one arm) He-he-he, care package!

Tori: Any sweets?

Zas: Something that is actually food?

SA: Another chapter is done you know.

Saria: Read, review, and have some patience! (Eagerly rips into the care package) A teddy bear?

All: NOOOOO!


	5. Chapter 5

Saria: Chocolate… Chocolate…!

SA: And she's still in sugar distress.

Tori: Don't look to me! Finally out of the hospital and we've nothing in the cupboards! The terrible economy is making a starving artist out of everyone, even people who aren't artists.

Zas: So, we're stuck with Saria in this kind of funk until she finally overcomes her sugar addiction?

SA: Yep. (Brings out her long missing mallet) And she won't stop me now! MWA-HA-HA!

Tori: Aauughhhh! (Runs from the room and locks herself in the bathroom)

zzzzzzzzzz

Yusuke woke shortly after sunrise to the smell of alcohol and glanced around her quickly. The stink had reminded her of home yet again, but after so many months, she had thought the smell to just be a figment of her imagination. The smell definitely wasn't imaginary though.

The blue haired one, Chuu, was up already and chugging a particularly noxious smelling concoction from a metal flask in front of the remains of the fire.

Touya, who Yusuke had gathered to be the responsible one of the group, was up also up and literally looked ready to throw the drunken one into the nearby stream as he revived the fire from the embers.

"You were supposed to keep the fire going during your watch, not get so incredibly plastered that you wouldn't even notice the chill!" Touya snapped at the wobbling figure as he fed the small flames twigs.

Chuu started muttering something that Yusuke couldn't even begin to understand, but she didn't think he'd notice her slipping away, so she quickly stood, grabbing her cloak and bag, lightly stepping around the other still sleeping forms. She was almost out of the camp when a light touch on her shoulder caused her to turn back.

Touya held a small wrapped package out to her and said a simple "Riceballs for your journey", before turning back to the camp and returning to his fire.

"Thank you," Yusuke called back before heading into the forest, uncertain of where she was headed, aside from that she wasn't headed towards that town where she met Suzuka.

zzzzzzzzzz

The elder Toguro stared around at the building that was formerly the base of operations for the Apparition Gang. With his brother's return to humanity, the gang had collapsed, and though some demons like the triad had remained, most of the "members" had chosen to leave. Now it was just him, a few dozen demons, the quarters he used to share with his brother, and the memories.

He didn't know what to do at the moment; there were so many things that had gone wrong! His brother wasn't here any longer, and though he was certain that his younger brother wouldn't object to visits, he definitely wasn't coming back. Yusuke, his niece, wasn't coming back either. He already missed both of their presences. Karasu and Bui weren't going to return; they were training and looking for Yusuke in the Demon World.

For the first time in almost fifty years, the elder Toguro brother found himself needing to just let his feet take him wherever and think about many things. How fifty years ago, after seeing Genkai refuse to follow his brother he had chosen to prove his loyalty by following him into demonhood. He thought of how he used to be, the slightly jealous older brother who envied his brother of his school, students, and lover. How he was equally angered when the school was attacked and his brother's students murdered. How after that moment, everyone, demon or human, was responsible, hoe they hadn't done something that could have saved his brother that pain. How he never wanted to admit that he was the most at fault since he had promised his brother that he would help him by watching the dojo the day that Kairin attacked…

Shaking his head, the long haired Toguro glanced at the room his feet had taken him to. Yusuke's room.

Turning and marching down the stairs, the demon knew his mind was finally made up. The Apparition Gang was going to continue, as bodyguards for hire. And he would put his life and money into insuring that Yusuke was found, and that his family stayed in that shrine. He would have an eternity to make up for abandoning his post on that terrible, crucial day fifty years ago, and he could think of worse things other than watching over his brother's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on. After all, they would all still be Toguros.

zzzzzzzzzz

Less than three minutes after waking up and yelling a quick "Later!" at his father's tower, Jin was off, flying at break neck speed in the direction that he knew his fellow travelers were staying, and inside of ten minutes, he saw a small plume of smoke indicating a fire. A quick flyover revealed the campers to be his current traveling companions and Jin landed smoothly.

Before he could even begin to tell them of his news, Jin found himself set upon by Rinku who was going on about a pretty girl with black hair that had been there the night before. The kid honestly seemed heartbroken that she had set out to join her family rather than stay with them.

The others at the site must have been listening to Rinku's heartache all morning if their expressions were anything to go by. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, Jin didn't have time for this!

"Rinku, no wasting wind right now, there's an emergency!" Jin shouted as he planted the bouncing boy onto the ground using a fist to the head. Needless to say, he had everyone's attention.

"Jin, wh-?" Touya began only to be cut off by Jin.

"Remember Yusuke from Team Toguro at the Dark Tournament? The one who was always getting into trouble and only showed up for the first round with her team leader?" Touya nodded while most of the others looked confused for a moment before they remembered the girl in one way or another.

"You mean the pink haired bellhop who ruined my suitcase?" Suzuka demanded while Shishiwakamaru gave a short laugh.

"I thought she was playing hide-and-seek or tag with the elder brother from the way she ran around and he followed," Rinku stated.

"The cute pink haired sheila that only a suicidal man would try to hook up with if Toguro's protective actions were anything to go by?" Chuu asked.

Jin nodded at the various statements before continuing. "Apparently the reason she disappeared was because Toguro kidnapped her from her mother, so father kidnapped her in turn to save her! She's my little sister!"

The silence that followed was broken various different exclamations, varying from Shishi's roar of "WHAT?", to Suzuka's yell of "I still need a new suitcase!", to Touya's mutter of "Typical", to Rinku's laughter, and finally Chuu groaning and muttering how there was no way in hell he was going to try to get close now.

"Guys, she's missing again!" Jin shouted over the ruckus, but to no avail. Everyone was still making too much noise to hear the truly important part.

zzzzzzzzzz

Three days had passed since Yusuke had left the group of Suzuka and Touya. During those days, she walked, ran, slept in bushes or trees, and after her rice balls ran out on the first day, she had spent an hour each day gathering food from the surrounding flora.

The journey itself wasn't hard, the day she left; she had found a road after almost three hours of running. That road had taken her past five villages, each becoming more rundown even as the road started to get narrow and not as well up kept. She learned that she was quickly approaching the border to Raizen's territory, the border he shared with someone named Yomi.

Yusuke didn't see any significance in this other than her almost being out of Raizen's territory, thus having more freedom. She did make sure though that she departed from the road though to cross the border through the cover of the forest. Dyed hair or not, she didn't know much about traveling in the Demon World, so she didn't know if she was supposed to have any form of travel document or permission. Besides, there was always the small chance that the border was guarded and that someone there might recognize her.

Traveling through the forest was tedious. Though food was easier to come by, without an actual road, there were tangled roots and brambles everywhere. Branches from trees jutted out in every conceivable direction. Yusuke did the best that she could to travel parallel in the direction she knew the road to go, but as another day crept by, she became aware of the fact she was creeping back towards that flat strip of terrain. By the time evening fell, she was back on the edge of the road, a very decrepit one at that, and moving as quickly as she could without energy.

Right as night fell, closing out the fifth day since her escape from Raizen's castle, a village came into view. It could be described as such: destitute. The single road it had was dirt and the buildings were simple hovels.

Yusuke chose to scale a tree for the night just outside of the town and climbed as high as she felt the tree could support her weight, then crept down a few branches before settling on a decent sized branch. She couldn't see the ground from this point, and the leaves and branches above blocked out most of the sky. It was probably the safest place she would be able to find to sleep.

zzzzzzzzzz

Bui honestly didn't know how much longer he would be able to take being around Karasu. The man was about as insane as they came, and he included the elder Toguro as a basis for comparison!

All things considered, Bui had thought the best place to look for Yusuke would be in Yomi's territory. He was still the newest of the kings, and the most likely to try to kidnap humans, especially with his pro-human eating policies. Karasu had disagreed, declaring that with the rules as they stood, especially concerning power levels allowed in the human world, if someone kidnapped Yusuke with the intent to eat her, they would have killed her in the human world, and considering how strong she was, that would have created a huge mess. The crow argued she was most likely in Raizen's territory since whoever took her didn't seem interested in eating her. Neither Yomi nor Mukuro put much stock in humans as far as that went.

So, somehow or another, they had split the difference and were sitting in a tiny pub of a town that was smack dab on the borders of Yomi and Raizen.

Earlier that evening, they had heard a rumor from a merchant about Raizen's search for a young girl with pink hair. Now for the true reason for Bui's ire; Karasu was gloating. And drunk.

"I was right!" Karasu prodded him as he ordered yet another tankard of the terrible swill the pub tried to pass off as ale. "Admit it, I was right!"

Almost a week ago, while still under the jurisdiction of Toguro, Bui would have given just about anything for a drink. Now he wished that Toguro was here so that he could knock the living daylight out of the clearly inebriated Karasu, the man's mask wasn't even straight anymore!

Grabbing the tankard before Karasu's questing hand could catch it; Bui downed the beverage with a grunt of disgust. Five tankards already he had consumed, and the stuff still tasted like it was pissed out by the barkeep.

Karasu, who had had seven drinks himself, leveled an angry finger at Bui's stomach and screamed, "You drink! That was my drunk!" He blinked almost owlishly after that declaration then burst into giggles over his own slip.

Bui sighed and stood from the bar; leaving his money for the drinks he'd had and headed for the exit. He was keenly aware of Karasu attempting to follow, yelling about how it was good they were taking this outside.

Seeing as how the town didn't have an inn, Bui headed toward the forest and as he settled himself beneath a tree, Karasu caught up. And started throwing bombs.

Bui easily moved out of the way, and the bombs harmlessly exploded against the tree, causing it to quake like a ship in a hurricane. At that moment a high pitched shriek ripped through the air, and Bui looked up in time to see a small child fall out of the higher branches, just in time for him to deftly catch.

A quick cursory glance told him the kid was alright, just shaken up, and he quickly set her on the ground before rounding on Karasu.

"You drunken, bird brained, son of a perverted horse!" Bui shouted as he snatched at Karasu, intent to strangle the man with his own hair. "You know we only use powers in areas that we insure are clear!"

"Bui? Karasu?" A small voice asked from behind them.

Bui turned easily to address the dark haired child. "That would be us, but how did you know that?"

"Obviously a fan from the Dark Tourny!" Karasu giggled as he pushed Bui off of himself.

The kid stared at Karasu for a moment, the declared loudly, "You're still a sour old bat, Karasu!"

Bui's mind froze as the words reached him, and then he found himself studying the child, really looking at her. Ignoring the hair color and noting the shape of her face and the shape and color of her eyes.

"Yusuke?" He uttered without realizing it.

"Yep, worst disguise ever, right?"

Bui's jaw dropped, but Karasu, whose mask had finally slipped off fully, gave the reaction that summed up both their feelings by self-detonating.

zzzzzzzzzz

Saria: You know the drill!

Zas: You read, so now review!

Tori: HELP! (still locked in the bathroom)

SA: OPEN THIS DOOR!


	6. Chapter 6

Saria: I'm tired, hungry, and my finger hurts…

Zas: Which finger?

Saria: My elbow hurts…

SA: Which elbow?

Saria: I want chocolate…

Tori: We don't have any.

SA: Maybe a reviewer will send you some.

zzzzzzzzzz

Yusuke could have screamed with joy when Bui had announced that Genkai was looking for her and that they would be getting her back to the human world post haste.

That joy turned to horror when they added that Toguro was looking for her as well.

The first order of business though: get out of Raizen's territory. And that was easily done with the border within the throwing distance of even an ordinary human. It shocked her when Bui grabbed her up with one arm and Karasu's hair with the other, racing up the road as quickly as he could, Karasu yelling and howling the entire way. And Yusuke thought she had an extensive library of curses and insults.

Bui continued his impromptu charge down the road for miles, finally letting go of Karasu once pain had caused the man to sober up enough to keep his feet under himself. An hour into the race had them well into the territory of Yomi, and checking into a rundown inn in an even more rundown town.

At no point while in the presence of anyone did Bui ever set her down; if possible, he seemed ready to try tucking her into his shirt from how close her held her. She found out why right after they shut the door to their room.

Bui explained that unlike Raizen's territory, humans were viewed only as food. If someone smelled her and realized she was human, then they were all in for some trouble.

"It is for that reason that we aren't going to attempt to return to human world from this kingdom. We'll be heading to the lands of Mukuro. Normally Raizen's territory would be best for this, but seeing the situation…"

They all understood it well. If she got recognized, they would all be caught.

"For the time being," Bui continued, "we'll claim to be traveling fighters and that Yusuke is Karasu's daughter."

"WHAT?" two very angry voices shouted at the same time. Both Karasu and Yusuke glared at each other for a moment before turning their attention back to Bui.

"Nope, not happening," they said simultaneously before glaring at each other again. "Stop copying me!" they yelled in unison.

"Argue like that, and you guys will eventually convince even me that you are!" Bui stated with a laugh.

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Genkai sighed as she and Toguro left her shrine home to travel to their next destination. It had taken a bit of planning, but she had found a way to determine Yusuke's location, if she were in the human world, if she performed a psychic search from three different locations. The amplified power due to the battleground at her shrine made it a good starting point, but of Yusuke there was no sign.

Two more locations, then if they still couldn't find Yusuke, they'd head for the Demon world.

For not the first time, Genkai took solace in Toguro's quiet companionship. She had missed this.

Both glanced up when they heard a rustle amongst the trees and spotted a glimpse of black that disappeared quickly.

"Wonder who he thinks he's fooling?" Toguro asked as he continued down the path towards the town.

Genkai only smiled as she continued the trek also.

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Having slept in trees or on the ground for the last several days, it wasn't surprising for Yusuke that she tired as quickly as she did and fell asleep so readily.

To Bui and Karasu though, the sight of a sleeping Yusuke was just plain freaky. The girl moved around too much, caused too much trouble to just fall asleep like that!

Plus, it left them with another problem: Yusuke was sleeping on one of the beds, so which of them got the other bed and who got the couch?

"I'm too wide for the couch!" Bui hissed at the crow as they did a small shoving match.

"Then consider it payment for the father/daughter comment you made earlier!" the bomb-wielder still was sour at even the notion of him being Yusuke's parent! Besides, it was obvious that Toguro wanted that particular gig!

"It was a suggestion, and I've already tried sleeping on a couch recently!"

"When?" Karasu demanded.

"The tournament, right after you tricked me out of my bed! I was too wide though so I ended up moving Yusuke to the couch!"

"Then let's just move Yusuke to the couch!" Karasu said as he moved toward the unsuspecting girl.

"After what she has gone through, do you really think moving her while asleep would be that good of an idea?" Bui asked, and Karasu froze. "Just share if you insist on a bed so much! It'll also help disguise her scent."

"After what happened last time? There is no way I'd ever share a bed with her again! And she's shorter now too, when she kicks, it won't hit my leg!"

"So you'd prefer to share with me?" Bui stated in a flat tone.

That ended the discussion for both of them.

As Karasu was getting ready to sleep though, he did notice something very wrong, something both of them had missed up until that point.

"Bui, is it just me, or is her scent not… right?" Karasu asked as he took a deep breath, trying to figure out what about Yusuke's scent had changed.

Bui moved over and took a breath himself. The girl still smelled like Yusuke, her scent hadn't really changed, yet it was completely different. "She smells almost like a…"

"Demon," Karasu said blankly as he finally was able to process what his olfactory sense knew, but his brain had trouble computing. "Like a half-breed to be exact. A hanyou."

"The lordinir…" Bui murmured as his and Karasu's eyes met. "Toguro and Genkai are going to _love_ this…"

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Hiei watched Genkai and Toguro as they boarded the human transportation system, the one called a "train" if he remembered right. They would be headed to two more sites in the human world during their search for Yusuke, then to the demon world. And he would of course use that opportunity to return to his home world.

It was too bad really that his time in the human world had come to this. Not that he really had too many regrets.

Yukina, his original reason for coming to this world, was safe and happy. Sure that one human idiot seemed to be smitten by her, but Hiei had little doubt that that same human would take a sword through the gut if it meant protecting her.

Kurama had been an unexpected discovery as well, and he admitted, to himself only, that the fix was someone he could trust. Yukina would be safe with him here as well since the former thief had shown himself to be so honorable.

Finally, Yusuke. Neither Hiei nor Kurama had been fooled, for long, by her attempts to cross dress. Kurama's nose was too sharp to be fooled, and the Jagan had told him immediately the first time it had been bared in front of her. Hiei honestly didn't know what he thought of Yusuke. She was loud, brash, capable of being stupid and smart at the same time, and completely different from any other woman he had ever met.

She confused him.

Still, he did have to admit one thing: he owed her. And he had failed already at trying to level that score by not being able to free her from Toguro. This most certainly would not due.


End file.
